Putin: Russia to Continue Cooperation with OPEC+

Russian President Vladimir Putin speaking at the Russian Energy Week forum in Moscow on Thursday (EPA)
Russian President Vladimir Putin speaking at the Russian Energy Week forum in Moscow on Thursday (EPA)
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Putin: Russia to Continue Cooperation with OPEC+

Russian President Vladimir Putin speaking at the Russian Energy Week forum in Moscow on Thursday (EPA)
Russian President Vladimir Putin speaking at the Russian Energy Week forum in Moscow on Thursday (EPA)

Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday that his country will continue to develop cooperation with the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and its allies known as OPEC+, as well as members of the Gas Exporting Countries Forum (GECF).

Putin also said Russia is fulfilling its obligations to supply energy resources to the global market.

The Russian President was speaking at the Russian Energy Week before a panel of top ministers from OPEC+ called the Joint Ministerial Monitoring Committee is scheduled to meet on Oct. 2 to review the market and is not expected to make any changes to policy.

Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak told Reuters on Thursday that there were no changes to OPEC+ plans to start phasing out oil production cuts from December.

OPEC+, which groups OPEC members and allies such as Russia, is scheduled to raise output by 180,000 barrels per day in December. Iraq and Kazakhstan have pledged to cut 123,000 bpd in September to compensate for earlier pumping above agreed levels.

OPEC+ sources told Reuters on Thursday that the producer group is set to go ahead with a December oil output increase because its impact will be small should a plan for some members to make larger cuts to compensate for overproduction be delivered in September and later months.

Speaking at the Russian Energy Week, Putin said on Thursday, “Russia is fulfilling its obligations to supply energy resources to the global market. It plays a stabilizing role in it, participating in such authoritative formats as OPEC+, and the GECF.”

He added: “And we will certainly continue this cooperation with our partners.”

Putin praised cooperation with the BRICS group of countries, which Moscow sees as a counterbalance to the West, adding that Russia will continue cooperation with the OPEC+ oil producers.

Putin also acknowledged difficulties in payments for Russian energy exports, for which “friendly” counries, which have not introduced sanctions against Russia, account for 90%.

Russian oil and gas sales account for around a third of total state budget revenues and have been crucial for underpinning country's economy, which faces multiple sanctions from the West over the military conflict with Ukraine.

Meanwhile, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak told reporters on the sidelines of Russian Energy Week that all countries participating in the OPEC+ deal are currently in full compliance with their respective obligations, Russian, according to the Interfax news agency.

He said Russia aims to be producing 540 million tons of oil per year by 2050 in the baseline scenario, but this amount might be adjusted depending on the country's obligations within OPEC+.

“Indeed, 540 million tons is the baseline scenario for which we're aiming [for oil output by 2050], but with a caveat taking into account cooperation with our partners in OPEC+. We have no objective to flood the market if it does not require this. But [it also works] the other way, to give the market additional resources if this is required,” Russian Deputy Energy Minister Pavel Sorokin said.

He said Russia is not worried about potential growth of demand in the period to 2030 or the period to 2050.

“In our view, it's fairly substantial. It's at least 5 million-7 million bpd, meaning about 4.5%-5.5% from current consumption to 2030. Subsequently, we're talking about around 5% additional growth to 2050,” Sorokin said.



Dollar Rises as Traders Mull Ukraine Peace Talks, Trump Tariffs

US Dollar and Euro banknotes are seen in this illustration taken July 17, 2022. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo
US Dollar and Euro banknotes are seen in this illustration taken July 17, 2022. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo
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Dollar Rises as Traders Mull Ukraine Peace Talks, Trump Tariffs

US Dollar and Euro banknotes are seen in this illustration taken July 17, 2022. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo
US Dollar and Euro banknotes are seen in this illustration taken July 17, 2022. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo

The dollar strengthened against a range of currencies but slipped against the yen on Wednesday, as traders focused on talks over a Ukraine ceasefire and digested the latest round of tariff threats from US President Donald Trump.

The pound, meanwhile, got a short-lived boost from a stronger-than-expected UK inflation print.

The dollar index last stood at 107.2, up 0.19% after dropping 1.2% last week. The yen was stronger against the dollar , up 0.1% at 151.855.

Trump's administration said on Tuesday it had agreed to hold more talks with Russia on ending the war in Ukraine after an initial meeting that excluded Kyiv, a departure from Washington's previous approach that rallied US allies to isolate Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Francesco Pesole, foreign exchange strategist at ING, pointed to the market's base case that a peace deal in Ukraine might be reached at some point. Meanwhile, the European Union's exclusion from the table at peace talks is seen as spurring safe-haven demand into the yen and out of the euro, he said.

The euro was down 0.4% against the yen at 158.25, and down 0.2% against the dollar at $1.0426, Reuters reported.

Pesole highlighted the latest raft of tariff threats from Trump, but said the market was more focused on news around a potential Ukraine peace deal in the short-term.

"There is a residual sort of reluctance in markets to see whether Trump will indeed go ahead with tariffs on trade partners," he said.

Trump said on Tuesday he intends to impose auto tariffs "in the neighborhood of 25%" and similar duties on semiconductors and pharmaceutical imports, the latest in a series of measures threatening to upend international trade.

"Amid all this chaotic, childish back and forth of the presidential tariff announcements, let's not lose sight of what will ultimately come out of it: probably fewer tariffs than expected when he took office, but still substantial ones," Commerzbank forex analysts and strategists said in a note.

The euro was little moved by remarks from European Central Bank board member Isabel Schnabel, who on Wednesday told the Financial Times the central bank was edging closer to pausing rate cuts.

In the UK, official data showed inflation speeding up by more than expected to hit a 10-month high of 3.0% in January and is likely to rise further soon, testing the Bank of England's confidence that price pressures will ease over the longer term.

Sterling was down 0.27% at $1.25790, coming off a two-month high hit immediately after the data.

Against the euro, the pound was virtually unchanged at 82.86 pence. Pesole said the relatively safe position of the UK on trade and the latest inflation figures made the pound more attractive than the euro.

Elsewhere, the Reserve Bank of New Zealand reduced its benchmark rate by 50 basis points to 3.75% on Wednesday as widely expected and signalled future moves would likely be smaller, leaving the currency up 0.2% on the day at $0.5714 .